St. Landry democrat., 1887-07-28

| sleek hats-and patrOnizng air, ana un-
| accountable interest about your WelfarS
and entertainment. You are fool II you
can not see through it. They want youl
| money.
In Chestnut street, Philadelphia, while
I was living in that city, an incident oc
| cured which was familiar to US there. In
| Chestnut street young man went into a
| gambling saloon, lost all his property
| then blew his brains out, and before the
blood was washed from the floor by the
maid the comrades were shutting cards
again. You see there is more mercy IN
! the highwayman for the belated
traveller on whose body he heaps the
stones, there Is more mercy in the frost
for the flower that it kills, there is more
mercy in the hurricane that shivers the
steamer on the Long Island coast, than
| there is mercy in the heart of "a gambler
| for his victim.
In the third watch of the night, also,
drunkenness does its worst The drink
ing will be respectable at eight o'clock in
| the evening, little flushed at nine, talka.
| tive and garrulous at ten, at eleven bias
phem at twelve the hat falls off, at
one the man falls to the floor asking for
more drink. Strewn through the drink
ing saloons of the city, fathers, brothers,
| husbands, sons, as good as you are by nat
ure, perhaps better.
| In the high circles Of society it IS hushed
up. A merchant prince, if he gets noisy
and uncomfortable, is taken by his fello w
| jewellers, who try to get him to bed, or
| take him home, where he falls fat in the
entry. Do not wake up the children.
| They have had disgrace enough. Do not
| let them know it. Hush it up. But some
| times it can not be hushed up when the
| rum touches the brain and the man be-
comes thoroughly frenzied. Such one
| came home, having been absent for some
| time, and during his absence his wife had
died, and she lay in the next room pre-
pared for the obsequies, and he went in
| and dragged her by the locks, and shook
her out of her shroud, and pitched her
out of the window.
Oh! when rum touches the brain you
can not hush it up. Ny friends, you see.
all around about you the need that some
thing radical be done. You do not see the
worst In the midnight meetings at Lon
don great multitude have been saved
We want few hundred Chris tan men
and women to come down from the high
est circles of society to toll amid these
up light in the dark alley, even the glad
ness of heaven.
Do not go wrapped in your fine furs and
from your we'll filled tables with the idea
that pious talk is going to stop the gnaw
ing of an empty stomach, or to warm
stockingless feet. Take bread, take
raiment, take medicine as well as take
prayer. There is great deal of common
sense in what the poor woman said to the
city missionary, when he was telling her
how she ought to love God and serve him.
'Oh," she said, "if you were as poor
and cold as | am, and as hungry, you
could think of nothing else"
what are you distributing tracts for
nova There are 5000 men bleeding to
death. Bind up their wounds, and then
distribute the tracts"
We want more common sense in Chris
tian work, taking the bread of this life in
one hand and The bread of the next life in
the other hand. No such inapt work as
that done by the Christian man who, dur
ing the last war, went into hospital
with tracts, and coming to the bed of a
man whose legs had been amputated.
gave him tract on the sin of dancing! ]
rejoice before God that never are sympa-
thetic words uttered, never prayer of
fered, never a Christian almsgiving in.
dulged in but it is blessed.
There is place in Switzerland, have
been told, where the utterance of one
word will bring back score of echoes:
and | have to tell you this NOR ming that
sympathetic word. kind word, a gen.
erous word, a helpful word, uttered in the
dark places of the town, will bring back
10000 echoes from the thrones of Heaven.
Are there in this assemblage this morn
ing those who know by experience the
tragedies in the third watch of the nightl
am not here to thrust you back by one
hard word. Take the bandage from your
bruised soul, and put on it the soothing
salve of Chrisrs Gospel and Of Gods COM
passion. Many have come l see others
coming to God this morning, tired of the
sinful life. Cry up the news to Heaven
Set all the bells ringing Spread the ban
quet under the arches. Let the crowned
heads come down and sit at the jubilee.
tell you there is more delight in Heaven
over one man that gets reformed by the
grace of God than over ninety and nine
that never got off the track.
But there is a man who will not reform.
He says: II won't reform" Well then,
how many acts are there in tragedy?
Act the first of the tragedy: A young
man starting off from home. Parents and
sisters weeping to have him go. Wagon
rising over the hill Farewell kiss flung
back. Ring the bell and let the curtain
fall
Act the second: The marriage altar
Full organ. Bright lights. Long white
vail trailing through the aisle Prayer
and congratulation, and exclamation of
"HoW well she looks!''
Act the third: A woman waiting for
steps Old garments stuck
into the broken windowpane. Marks of
on the face. The biting Of the
nail of bloodless fingers. Neglect, and
cruelty and despair. Ring the bell and
let the curtain drop.
Act the fourth: Three graves in dark
OF the child that died for
lack of medicine, grave of the wife that
died of a broken heart, grave of the man
that died of dissip alton. Oh! what a
blasted heath with three graves! Plenty |
Of weeds, but no flowers. Ring the bell |
and let the curtain drop.